Shakeups in esports: GuardiaN and Seized to Move

As far as news stories in the eSports world go, the announcement that both Ladislav “GuardiaN” Kovács and Denis “seized” Kostin is leaving team Natus Vincere is a major one. Both these players are leaving their team for different reasons, and the real shock is that GuardiaN has, according to inside sources, agreed to join FaZe Clan. Here are some details as posted on Reddit.

Now, for those of you who are following the space closely, you will know that Natus Vincere (Na’vi) has been one of the most legendary teams in the eSports tournament scene for some time. However, recently the team has seen a dip in its performance; it failed to qualify for the playoffs at the PGL Krakow event this month, prompting questions about the team’s future.

As with any professional team, a shakeup is needed at times to revitalize the remaining group and to regain some competitive advantage. In the case of Na’vi, it seemed like a change was coming after the devastating loss in Krakow. It wasn’t long after before GuardiaN, once one of the best players on the circuit before suffering a wrist injury, decided it was time to move on. Time will tell who decided for this change, but the quick turnaround to join FaZe Clan leads us to believe this was a voluntary move by Kovacs.

As for seized, the rumors of the reasons for his departure from the team are a little more cloudy. Reddit threads refer to slipping performance as the reason why; he had taken on a new role on the team that may have been a little outside his comfort level. Whatever the reasoning, if he is also departing the team, that will leave Na’vi with two open slots to fill. Speculation is rampant as to who will replace these two, but at the time of writing this article, there has been no confirmation of who will be joining the team.

So what does this mean for both these teams? Well, the eSports landscape becomes more lavish with each passing month; it seems like another event with a massive prize pool is launching every day. With that increase in popularity also comes an increased level of competition; games that were at one point dominated by teams like Na’vi and FaZe Clan are now full of legitimate contenders. Like any smart owners, these teams have decided to make their changes now; in the short term, you can expect the results to be mixed as both teams get used to new line-ups. Knowing the level of professionalism both teams bring to the tournament scene, it likely won’t be too long before we see Natus Vincere and FaZe Clan fighting for the top prizes around the world. For now, it’s probably best to not lay any money on either to take down the next couple of competitions.